Chepstow Runners

There are four meetings taking place this afternoon with jumps cards from Ascot, Catterick and Chepstow, whilst there is an all-weather flat fixture from Newcastle.  David has two runners at Chepstow today; Dusky Hercules and Sexy Lot.  Dusky Hercules contests the 2m7f handicap hurdle at 2.15pm.  A winner last season at Exeter on soft ground, he is 4lbs higher today despite disappointing on his last start.  He will need to improve to figure given the competitive nature of the race for this grade, although he is still only lightly raced and could progress further yet.  Fergus Gillard takes the ride.

Our other runner is Sexy Lot (pictured above) who runs in the 2m3½f handicap hurdle at 4.00pm.  She was an easy winner last week on soft ground at Ffos Las so underfoot conditions should suit her well and given that was a conditional jockeys' race she can compete here without a penalty.  Indeed, she is 12lbs ahead of the handicapper, so on that basis she should take the world of beating.  The only imponderable is this longer trip - if she gets it, she should win under David Noonan.

First Lord de Cuet fared best of our runners yesterday, finishing runner-up in the 2m7f handicap hurdle at Market Rasen.  He took a bit of a bump when a rival came down at the penultimate hurdle which did him no favours, but he still had every chance and was beaten only a length.  He shouldn't be long in winning based on this evidence.

The government announced yesterday that there would be £40 million in grants available to racing and BHA chief executive Nick Rust has said that it was in the sport's best interests for the tracks to take the support package.  Talk about stating the obvious!  With no paying spectators through the gates, it will certainly be a winter of discontent for the courses. The grants could well prove the difference between some of the tracks remaining open or closing permanently.

*****

With a number of the big names already out of contention, it is looking more and more likely that Ronnie O'Sullivan and Judd Trump will face-off in the final of the Northern Ireland Open (held in Milton Keynes!) for a third year in a row after both players progressed to the quarter-finals yesterday.  O'Sullivan will play Ding Junhui tonight.

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I was on a flight the other day when the air hostess came up to me and said, “Excuse me sir, would you like to have dinner?”

I said, “What are the options?”

She said, “Yes or No.”

My girlfriend told me she was leaving me because I keep pretending to be a Transformer.

I said, “No, wait! I can change.”

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